Reviewers Award Airport Cafe 3.5 Stars

We had heard about the quaint little restaurant at the Springdale Airport, and finally found ourselves in the vicinity to try it out recently for lunch.

The Airport Cafe, located on the second floor of the airport’s terminal, was just as we had heard. It is down-home cooking and very reasonably priced. There is no fanfare with the meals, which proves that the food is what attracts the large lunch gathering.

You can watch small airplanes land and take off right from your seat. If you’re into aviation, it’s quite an interesting place to dine.

One diner ordered one of the daily specials — fried shrimp ($5.50). It came with coleslaw, hushpuppies and Cajun potatoes, which he said were a nice surprise.

The shrimp were a little small, but there were plenty of them. He also got a small salad on the side.

Another diner got another lunch special. This one was the fried catfish ($5.50). The first thing you notice about the fillet was how clean it looked with no noticeable grease. Again, it was a very nice portion of meat for a lunch special.

About the only thing that was not plentiful were the already small hushpuppies, but the few we did have were good.

Another lunch special on some days is spaghetti ($5.25), but we usually head west of Springdale to satisfy our spaghetti desires.

One diner had the codfish sandwich ($4.95), which he simply called “great.” He still raves about the meatloaf he had on a previous trip to The Airport Cafe, which he said looked and tasted just like his mother had when he was a child.

“I like the coziness of the place,” one of our guests said. “It has that homey feel.”

Depending on the day, we suggest getting there before the noon rush as there may be a line for an available table. But even then, you can look at the interesting photos of old aircraft, or even watch them out on the runway.

We were in a bit of a hurry on this day, and The Airport Cafe’s staff was very prompt in its service. We didn’t have a chance to try the deserts, but we may have to go back and try the cobbler ($2.25, $2.95 ala mode), apple dumpling, strawberry shortcake or even an old-time root beer float ($2.25).

Other items at The Airport Cafe include the loaded spud, chili cheese spud, garden spud ($3.50 each), and Frito chili pie ($5.95). There are 12 different burgers and sandwiches, ranging from cordon bleu to Freddie’s Philly ($4.95 each). And the entrees include roast beef, hamburger steak, country fried steak, grilled ham and others ($6.50 each).

There is also a senior citizen’s menu.

The restaurant attracts a variety of diners, ranging from executives to the blue collar crowd.

And we’re told by regulars that the breakfast is even better.

The restaurant is located at 802 Airport Road, Springdale.